


SCREAM - Formido animi preces a malo est

by Deaths_Head_11



Series: Excitatio mali et mors eius [3]
Category: Scream (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 03:47:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14440776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deaths_Head_11/pseuds/Deaths_Head_11
Summary: Part 3 of a series. Continuation of previous works. It's been five years since the events at Camp Crystal Lake and the towns of Springwood and Forest Green and the survivors of that time have moved on. Some have moved to Woodsboro, wanting to start fresh, unaware of the Evil which has followed and is directed by one known to them. Original Characters and movie characters interact.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own SCREAM, Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, Woodsboro, Nightmare on Elm Street, Springwood or Freddy Krueger etc. I also do not own the counselors from Friday the 13th The Game by Gun Media. They are owned by their parent company and all I own are my OC's which are appearing in this story.
> 
> This story is a direct continuation from my first two horror stories, Friday the 13th - Daemon Nocte and Nightmare on Elm Street - Daemon Redi Somniumx and is a continuation of the events stated there, set five years later. Some of the survivors of that story will appear in this one.
> 
> Text between *...* is a person's thoughts.

Chapter One -

FIVE years has passed since the killings at Crystal Lake, Forest Green and Springwood. The survivors have moved on and over time, have dispersed across the country, with some having settled in a small town in California called Woodsboro. The town is one which is familiar with a dark past, but like Forest Green, has moved on and grown into a bright prosperous community.

Driving down the main street, a loaded stationwagon drove past the local businesses. The driver, one Emilia Roberts, smiled as she looked around. The town was everything Mara Summers had said it was. Her smile faded slightly as she remembered what happened before.

Mara had been the best friend to one Rina Masterson, who was the twin sister to a friend of Emilia's, Grant. He had been at Crystal Lake along with some others when the Crystal Lake Killer struck and her friends, Mario Papparino and Jane Kirk were murdered. Emilia also saw the murders attributed to the Springwood Slasher, Freddy Krueger first hand when the killer possessed a girl and used her to snap the neck of a fellow survivor, Sasha Myers.

Emilia was still haunted by the memories of those weeks, so long ago. She had been at Mara's wedding to her long time boyfriend, Jeffrey Summers... had even been her Maid of Honor. Over the years, the two grew to be close friends, so when she had told Mara she needed a new start, her friend's response was simple.

Move to Woodsboro and start anew. So, she had looked online and found a simple two storey townhouse, fully furnished, in the town limits, packed up her sister and their belongings and left their hometown of Springwood. Now, in Woodsboro, Emilia hoped that they could start anew.

Looking out the window of the car, Avril Roberts frowned and popped some bubblegum.

"Great... Nice town sis, can I go die now?"

Behind the steering wheel, Emilia frowned as she glanced at her younger sibling. Four years have passed since the deaths of her parents in a horror automobile accident and she became the Guardian of her then Twelve year old sister. She had tried to the best of her abilities to care and raise Avril responsibly, but at Seventeen, she was just like every other teenager... which meant Emilia had to grow eyes in the back of her head.

"Hey Avril, cheer up. New town, new opportunities."

Looking at her older sibling, Avril lowered her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose.

"... Opportunities for YOU, you mean."

She then popped her gum again loudly, before raising her glasses back up and looked out the window. Unconsciously, Emilia gripped the wheel tightly, as she turned the car off the main road of the town and down a side street. Silence filled the car, occasionally broken by Avril's gum popping, until Emilia brought the car to a stop in front of a small, two storey townhouse. She glanced at her phone, rechecking the message, then smiled.

"Ok, this is it Sis."

Rolling her eyes behind her glasses, Avril undid her seatbelt and climbed out, grabbing her bag. Her clothing attire was in the Grunge fashion and she regarded the residence with some scorn.

"Whatever... "

Emilia sighed as she looked over at the house. This was a new start for her and her sister... to start fresh. Walking up the path, she smiled at the small garden outside the house, before climbing up the steps and stood on the front verandah. Off to one side was a chair suspended by a chain from the roof, which Avril frowned at.

Emilia brought the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door, the hinges creaked loudly, causing her to chuckle nervously as she looked at her sister.

"Part of the charm?"

Watching her sister groan, Emilia turned and stepped foot inside, looking down the hallway. The wooden floor was a deep mahogany color, matching well with the white walls, as the two sisters entered. Emilia looked in the first room off the hallway, a sunken living room with a doorway to the dining room. Smiling, Emilia looked around the first floor as her sister climbed up the stairs to the second landing. Opening the first door, Avril looked in at the bathroom, before walking down the small corridor. Opening the next door, the master bedroom opened up before her. Light streamed in through the bay window, illuminating the room and making it feel airy.

Frowning, she shut the door and walked to the other door, opening it. Inside, the room was considerably darker, as the window was on the back of the building, allowing some light in. Deciding on this room for herself, she dumped her bag on the bed and walked over to the window and opened the blind.

Looking out on to the small, yet still well kept backyard, she let her gaze wander and found she could see over the fence into the neighbor's yard. She was about to turn away, when she saw movement in the pool, as a young man broke the surface and climbed out of the water. Avril found herself staring at the man, the water glistening on his bare chest and down to the figure hugging shorts he was wearing. Biting her lip, she watched as he grabbed a towel and started to dry himself, so preoccupied that she failed to notice Emilia standing next to her.

"See something you like sis?"

Her face flushed red, Avril stuttered and bumped into the blind, attracting the man's attention. Looking up at the window, Avril and Emilia were clearly seen, making him smile. Emilia chuckled as Avril closed the blind and glared at her.

"Not funny."

Smiling broadly, Emilia turned and walked over to the bedroom door.

"Come on, we've got to unpack the car, before we can go greet the neighbors."

Muttering to herself, Avril followed her sister back downstairs and out to their car. Opening the back door, Emilia grabbed a large bag and a smaller one as her sister opened one of the side doors. Reaching over, she grabbed a bag with her laptop in it and her backpack for school and stood up. Turning around, she saw the man from next door, who was walking up to her with a smile on his face.

"Hi, heard we were getting new neighbors." he stopped in front of Avril and extended his right hand "Name's Mark, Mark Charleson."

Blushing, Avril swallowed and grasped his hand in her own, noting how small her hand was to his.

"Avril Roberts."

Mark smiled then looked at the car.

"Well, what sort of neighbor would I be, if I didn't help you guys unload your car?"

Before Avril could respond, her sister spoke up in a amused tone.

"A poor one I'd imagine..." she walked over and looked Mark square in the eyes "Marky Mark... are you chatting up my little sister? Whatever would your sister say?"

Before Mark could respond, a female voice spoke out from behind them.

"Marcus Andrew Charleson! What are you doing out here dressed like that! Do you want to get in trouble!?"

The three turned and saw a young woman, with long light brown hair and wearing a long dress and jacket. As Mark groaned, Emilia smiled and walked up to the woman.

"Mara! You didn't say that the house for sale was your neighbors!"

Puzzled and then recognition dawned on the woman's face, as she stepped forward and embraced Emilia in a hug.

"Emilia! We didn't think you would be getting here for another few days!"

With a smile, Emilia nodded.

"Yeah, that was the plan. But we got all our stuff sorted out, so thought why not get a headstart and... here we are!"

The two women smiled, as Avril leaned over to Mark.

"Uhh... they know each other?"

Mark nodded as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah... something happened a few years ago and they became friends." he shrugged "Don't remember much, was only thirteen back then and too preoccupied with gaming. Heh, still am to a degree I guess, was trying to get into a pro gaming team..."

Avril looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess... you took an arrow to the knee?"

A dry chuckle escaped him as he turned to look at her.

"Gamer as well eh?"

Avril smiled and patted her laptop bag.

"Don't mean to brag... but I'm pretty good at FPS games."

Raising an eye, Mark nodded.

"Well, may have to have a game with you sometime. You on..."

Emilia and Mara walked over and interrupted the two.

"Ok Mark... enough with the smooth talking. Let's help them unpack and then we can all go out to dinner tonight."

Looking at his sister, a hopeful look on his face.

"You mean..."

Mara laughed and nodded.

"Yes, we'll go to Starkhavens." She noticed the looks on Emilia and Avril's faces "It's a local bar and grill, just opened a year or so ago."

Grinning, Mark fist pumped the air.

"Yeah! They've got the best steaks and the onion rings..."

Emilia smiled and nodded.

"Ok, ok... you've convinced us. So let's get to work."

Nodding, the youth turned around, grabbing three bags and hurried up the path to the house. Avirl smirked as she headed inside while Emilia and Mara watched them.

"Your brother seems rather... energetic."

Mara sighed.

"It's been rough the last few years though... I'm just glad he doesn't remember anything from THAT period."

Emilia looked at her friend and saw old grief appear on Mara's face. Reaching over, she patted Mara on the shoulder.

"You still miss her..."

Wiping a tear from her eyes, Mara nodded.

"She was my best friend... We... we grew up together. Spent so much time with her, her cousin and her brother... and now..."

The two women walked away from the car, as Mark raced out to grab some more cases and then headed back inside. Emilia looked closely at her friend.

"Have... have you heard anything from Grant?"

Shaking her head, Mara looked up.

"Last I heard... his relationship with Deborah fell apart. She... She's living with her parents in Seattle, raising two adorable children." she looked at her hands "Grant... Grant's disappeared. I tried reaching out to Liam, Sonya... they don't know where he is either."

Emilia frowned. Grant was instrumental in the defeat of the two killers all those years ago, buying time for another friend of theirs to complete a spell which sent the two into another dimension. For him to just disappear...

"... What... AJ and her... sources?"

Mara frowned.

"She's gone deep into the occult. Last I heard she had left the Coven she had joined and was in San Francisco." she folded her arms across her chest "I still think she had something to do with Grant and Deborah's break up."

Emilia looked at her, a puzzled look on her face, as Mark and Avril were still unpacking the car behind them.

"What do you mean?"

Mara sighed and looked to the side.

"After... after what happened, when they returned... remember how Grant was wounded? AJ was all over him, only backed away when Deborah got near. I know Grant and Deborah loved each other... and that AJ was with Adam..." she frowned again "Just.. the way she was towards him, made me think that there was something there..."

Emilia was silent, processing what her friend had said... when Avril called out.

"Hey, Sis! I'm not moving all of your junk!"

Startled from her woolgathering, Emilia turned and nodded.

"Ok, ok... we're coming." She headed back towards the car, Mara by her side "Perhaps it was just... heat of the moment or something. Life and death struggle and such... "

Mara nodded as she lifted a bag off the back seat.

"Maybe... Hell, it has been five years... I could just be seeing something there which isn't."

Just then, a large utility pulled into the driveway, a fair haired man climbed out and waved to Mara. Smiling she waved back as he walked over.

"Emilia... you remember my husband, Jeff."

Emilia smiled as he approached and hugged him.

"Of course I do! Have you finally grown up yet?"

Jeff grinned at her.

"I'm a respectable business entrepreneur now Emilia... Run my own business in town."

Before Emilia could respond, Mark looked down from the Verandah, Avril next to him.

"Meaning, he sits on his butt all day, behind a counter selling games to others... while playing them at work!"

Jeff turned and shouted back.

"THAT'S CALLED 'PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE' YOUNG MAN!"

Mark responded.

"BULL! IT'S CALLED 'PLAYING AROUND AT WORK'!"

Jeff was about to retort, when Mara cleared her throat.

"Honey, enough. Now we still need to help Emilia and her sister, unpack their car... then we can get ready and head out to Starkhavens."

As with Mark, Jeff's eyes lit up... and he started to audibly drool.

"Oh man... those Sirloin steaks..." he looked at them "What are you standing around for? Let's get going!"

Laughing, Mara watched her husband grab some bags and hurry them up the path as she followed behind him. Emilia smiled, thinking that this was exactly what she and Avril needed. A fresh start.

A chance to leave the terror from the past... behind. After all, what were the odds of anything bad happening in Woodsboro?


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Stephanie Cross sighed as she closed and locked the door. It had been another busy night at Starkhavens and with most of the staff already gone, she was left with her brother to finish cleaning up. Walking across the room, making sure that the chairs were pushed under their respective tables, she stifled a yawn as she walked down the hall to the office.

Reaching out, she opened the door and saw her brother hunched over the table working on his laptop.

"Hey bro... gonna be much longer?"

Benjamin Cross looked up at his sister and smiled.

"Almost done... be about another ten minutes I think."

Nodding and yawning at the same time, Stephanie turned and made her way down the hall.

"I'm gonna do one more check of things... be right back."

Benjamin nodded and put his headphones back on, the sound of 'Hammer High' by Hammerfall playing, as he turned his attention back to the paperwork. Stephanie rolled her neck as she walked away from the office, the long shifts taking their toll on the twenty eight year old.

She had left a promising career in Los Angeles, had been a sought after architect... until the company she worked for was bought out by a rival company, Mosby Impressions. She then found herself with no career, no saved funds and with rent due, she had only one course of action. Head back home to Woodsboro and join the family business.

Her parents had welcomed her back, with her brother offered her a position at their restaurant and slowly she started to get back on her feet. As she walked along the hallway, she looked at the framed newspaper clippings on the wall, showing the short history of the restaurant.

Her father and brother had started, by buying a small restaurant in receivership and at first, things weren't too good. The reviews by the critics were damning and reservations were nonexistent. Benjamin, in a moment of clarity or desperation, ended up getting assistance from the well known celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsey and his new season of Kitchen Nightmares. After that episode, the restaurant boomed. Critic reviews applauded the menu, decor and everything of the restaurant. Their father, left the business to Benjamin, who offered his sister a job and then... the rest is history.

It was then, she heard a noise from the kitchen, which drew her attention. Stephanie had taken a few steps, when she saw something run past the open door to the darkened kitchen. Something... large. She had stopped, frozen solid as she kept her gaze locked on the open doorway. A large lump found it's way into her throat, but she managed to squeak out in a soft voice...

"... h... hello? A... anyone... there?"

There was no response to her query, so she slowly made her way to the doorway and looked into the kitchen. The only illumination in the room, was from the doors of the refrigeration unit at the back of the kitchen, casting a soft blue light over the room. She then noticed, that a few of the pots and pans were resting on the counter... when they should have been put away. Focusing on something she could solve, she rolled her eyes and reached to the wall for the light switch, her fingers touching it and pressing the switch down.

The lights refused to work, causing a soft curse to escape her lips as she flipped the switch a few more times. Grimacing, she walked into the kitchen and headed towards the counter, grasping the handles of two of the pots and turned to put them away. Stephanie had just put all but one pan of the kitchenware away, when she heard a sound near the doorway. Closing the door on the pots, she called out as she stood up.

"Ben? That you? Seems Jesse didn't put away all the gear here and... and... an..."

Standing in the doorway, was not her brother... but a figure in ragged black robes and wearing a white 'ghost' mask. Fear dug their claws into Stephanie, who looked through wide eyes, as the figure drew from behind them a large and very sharp Buck knife. For a brief second, she turned and grabbed the pan and then looked to the doorway... to see the figure was gone.

Holding the pan handle tightly with both hands, she screamed out for her brother.

"BEN! BEN! GET OUT HERE! SOMEONE'S IN HERE!"

She expected to see her brother come running into the kitchen, but when he didn't appear, her fear level increased exponentially. Stepping slowly over to the doorway, she pressed herself against the wall and looked out into the hallway. The overhead lights in the hallway still shone brightly, but the darkened dining room filled her with dread. She stepped out into the hall and made her way to her brother's office, fear propelling her forward.

Coming up to the door, she grasped the handle and pushed down. The door swung open and a scream escaped from Stephanie. Her brother was sitting in his chair, his head almost severed from his neck with blood splattered all over the desk. Tears streaming down her face, she backed out into the hall and heard a tapping. Turning, she saw the robed figure at the end of the hallway, the large knife tapping against one of the metal railings along the wall.

Turning, Stephanie ran down the hall towards the dining room, the robed figure right behind her. Grabbing a chair, she pulled it out behind her and heard the figure collide with it and cursed out loud. Running to the entrance way, she jumped down the few steps and ran to the front door... to find it locked. Grabbing the door handle she shook it and looked out the glass and gasped. In the reflection, she saw the figure make the same jump, with the knife held in a downward thrust motion. Jumping to the side, she pivoted on her feet and ran back into the restaurant, hearing the figure collide with one of the pillars on either side of the door.

Panting, she ran past the tables and down the hall and as she passed the breaker box, paused to open and switch off the main breaker, plunging the entire interior into darkness. Crouching low, she made her way down the hall, pausing at a door. Looking behind her, darkness loomed in her vision, as she tried to open the door... only to hear a loud creak. Hearing footsteps, she quickly made her way to the end of the hallway, looking back over her shoulder... and saw nothing.

It was then, she remembered the window in the mens restroom, with the broken latch that Benjamin never got around to repairing. Taking a deep breath, she slowly stepped towards the restrooms, stopping as she approached a intersection. Pausing, she looked ahead and saw her target, moonlight could be seen through the small vent atop the doorframe. To her left, another hall which lead back to the dining room and to her right, the kitchen.

Carefully, she tip toed past the intersection and came to the door. Eyes closed, she prayed the door wouldn't squeak... and gave a short sigh when it didn't. Opening and then stepping inside, she closed the door and tried to block it with the trashcan nearby. She hurried over to the window and smiled as she saw the broken latch.

Stephanie had just stood up from her crouch and opened the window, when the door to a nearby stall opened violently and the robed figure pounced on her. The long blade sliced into her side deep, spilling her blood. Crying out, she fell back to the floor, as the figure stood over her and cleaned the blood off the blade with the gloved index finger and thumb of their right hand.

Fear and terror were in her eyes as she crawled backwards, only stopping when her back hit the wall, as the robed figure looked at her and held the blade tightly in their hand. Tears streaming down her face, she looked at them.

"Why?"

The robed figure spoke... a husky metallic sound.

"Why not?"

Raising the knife over their head, the figure took a step forward as Stephanie screamed. The blade flashed down, raised and brought down, again and again. The young woman's screams and pleas, soon turned to broken gasps and faint breaths, til nothing came from her at all. The figure smiled behind their mask, then in a act of randomness, wiped some of the woman's blood on the wall, to leave a message. When they were done, the robed figure cleaned their blade between their thumb and index finger, before turning and leaving through the door of the restroom, pausing only to move the 'Wet Floor' sign in front of the door.

Walking down the hallway, the robed figure walked towards the entrance, stopping to remove the robes and the mask. With a smile, they put the robes and the mask into a backpack, pausing to stare at the 'Ghostface' mask, running their fingers along the surface. They had done their research about the 'Ghostface' killers of a decade prior and with a thought of poetic irony, was glad they had decided to resurrect the 'legend'. Still smiling, they unlocked the doors and step outside into the night sky. Taking a deep breath of the night air, they turned and closed the doors of the restaurant before heading down a side street, vanishing into the darkness.

Opposite the restaurant parked in a alley, a heavily modified black Dominator GTX was parked, the driver watching as this new 'Ghostface' disappeared into the night. Reaching into their jacket pocket, they drew forth a cellphone and made a call. After calling the Woodsboro Police Department, they decided to make another call, to a residence in San Francisco.

"Hello."

The driver cracked their neck.

"It's me. I've found it... or at least someone who has read from it."

There was a brief pause, the the female on the other end spoke.

"... how many?"

The driver looked down the street where the killer had fled.

"Dunno... but even one is too many." pausing they drained the rest of the cold coffee from the diner down the road, before throwing the cup out the window "I'm going to have a look around, see what I can dig up. Can you...?"

The female on the other end, smirked as she looked at her computer fingers reading to start a search.

"Name of town?"

A chuckle came over the line.

"Heh, ready and willing eh? Town's Woodsboro."

Typing away, the female looked to the side at a picture from a few years ago.

"Woodsboro... You know, they are living there..."

The window slid back up as the driver turned the key, firing up the ignition of their car.

"Yeah... saw them. Don't worry, I'll be careful." The faint sound of Police sirens could be heard as the car pulled out of the alley and heading down the street "They've been through enough, they don't need to be pulled back into this."

Another pause before the female spoke again.

"... what about...?"

A grimace appeared on the driver's face.

"Call me when you have any information."

Before she could respond, the driver ended the call and put their phone back into their jacket pocket. He had a gut feeling that something from his past had resurfaced and it all had to do with a certain Book. He just prayed that no one had been stupid enough to read from the book and/or make a deal with those within it's blasphemous and infernal pages.

The muscle car turned down another side street, just as a cruiser from the Woodsboro Police department came screaming down the street, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Pulling up to Starkhavens, the occupants got out of their vehicle and entered the building. Constable Eve Logan on her first night on the job, grimaced as she saw the remains of the owner in his office, while her partner, Senior Constable Philip Evans called to her.

Joining him, the two made their way down the halls, pausing at the opened fuse box. While Philip looked at it, Eve turned and slowly walked down the hall... to pause at the door to the restrooms being slightly ajar and moonlight shining through. Eve gagged immediately, her face pale and almost dropped her weapon. Philip frowned as he saw the bloody remains of Stephanie Cross on the floor, blood everywhere. Turning his light around the room, his eyes widened as he saw blood smeared on the wall. Eve looked at it, eyes wide.

"Phil... what... ?"

Shining the light on the wall, he grabbed his mic, depressing the switch and when he spoke, his voice was tight.

"Dispatch, get the boss... everyone... here to Starkhavens. Now!"

Waiting for the confirmation, he kept staring at the bloody message on the wall, a message which said simply :

Ghostface is back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness of a update, been a bit busy and writing had to take a backseat for the time being. Not a long chapter, but one which needed to be done and bring about Ghostface. The car mentioned, Dominator GTX, is a new muscle car in GTA Online and one I particularly like (Disclaimer... Rockstar owns it, not me... I just love the look of it). I will try to update this within two weeks. Mosby Impressions, is a reference to Ted Mosby of How I Met Your Mother... a show I got back into and enjoy. Don't know if Ted actually DID have a company named that (only in the first season at the moment... Slap Bet, great episode), so yeah.
> 
> Please consider leaving a review. Thanks.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

INSIDE a dark room, a lone figure could be seen kneeling in front of a small altar, adorned with blackened sigils and in the center, a caricature of a humanoid wolf skull. The figure kept their head bowed as they communed with a Elder God known only as 'The Stalker in the Snows'.

"Master... I have come to listen to your words..."

In the shadows behind the altar and surrounding the figure, the soft padding of feet could be heard, along with the occasional flapping of large, leathery wings. In a low, growling tone, a voice spoke.

"My Disciple... there is a Imposter... One who does not follow the Way of the Hunt. You must stop them... "

The figure nodded, as the Speaker watched them.

"It shall be done Master... The Hunt will succeed..."

The Speaker spoke, right next to the cowed figure.

"For what you desire... Everything MUST be ready for the Blood Moon... Then... My Followers will arrive... The Door will open... Then, you shall have your reward."

A grin appeared on the figure's face, as the Speaker faded into the darkness. Before they were gone, they spoke once more.

"However... If you fail in this task... The punishment will be... " The figure cried out, hands clutching their chest tightly, as unimaginable pain assailed them, body and mind "Most... Rewarding..."

As suddenly as the pain assaulted them, it was gone... the figure gasping in short breaths. Slowly, they climbed to their feet and made their way out of the room, blinking rapidly as the light from outside illuminated the room. Closing the door behind them, they walked over and sat down at the table, head in their hands.

They had been given a incredible task to accomplish... but the cost for failure was weighing heavily upon them. They had to gather thirteen totems, bathed in the blood of thirteen specific individuals. Fortunately for them, they had been given six of the blooded totems by their Master, so only seven more needed to be 'blooded'. The Master had also given unto them the 'Scent' of the blood needed for the remaining totems. They looked over at the local newspaper, a smile appearing on their face.

An article drew their attention, about a new supermarket that was opening and on the front was a picture of the owner operator, the First 'Scent'. Tearing the picture out of the paper, they threw their head back and laughed.

"The Master will be pleased... The First has arrived! The Hunt can begin!"

{Line Break}

Captain Kate Castle was frustrated. She had thought that leaving the NYPD and New York in general, would lessen the odds of 'weird' cases following her. The former Sheriff, Dewey Riley, had advised her that the town was pleasant enough, just to keep an eye on things. Unfortunately, he did tell her that moving from the Big City to a small town had it's own ups and downs. He had also, on her first day, took her aside and told her the town's dark history. A large amount of murders had taken place years ago and in a small town like Woodsboro, are never forgotten. She had heard about the numerous murders while still at the NYPD and had been rather apprehensive about moving to the town...

But she had once again underestimated her husband, famed and noted author who had decided to go into a self imposed, semi retirement so he could focus on raising their three young children. Looking at the framed picture on her desk of her family, a smile came to her face. He had been the one to talk her into accepting the position of Captain of the new Woodsboro Police Department, replacing the former Sheriff's Department. He had also found the old two storey house for sale in Woodsboro, he had also looked into the school for their children, in short he had taken over more or less everything.

A soft knock on her door, shook her from her woolgathering as she looked up as a middle aged man looked in, a impish smile on his rugged face. Walking forward, he pulled from behind his back, a single red rose. Trying to fight back the smile on her face, Kate failed as she chuckled and took the flower.

"Rick..."

Richard 'Rick' Castle smiled at his wife as he sat in one of the chairs opposite her desk.

"Miss me?"

With a chuckle, Kate looked at her husband.

"I saw you this morning Rick."

Grinning, he leaned back in the chair, arms folded across his chest.

"You missed me."

Unable to keep a straight face, she chuckled as Rick's grin broadened. Sighing, she once again looked at him.

"I'm at work Rick, so I'm guessing you're here for...?"

Stretching his arms above his head, he then leaned forward on her desk, staring into her eyes.

"Is it so wrong, for a loving husband, to want to spend a romantic lunch with his wife?"

Eyes narrowed, Kate looked at him.

"You're up to something. Knowing you," she looked at him as he smirked that boyish smirk he had mastered so well "You want something."

Rick studied his wife's face, before sighing and nodded.

"Got a call from Alexis. The... jackass... of a boyfriend of hers, cheated on her."

Kate sighed.

"Of course she can come and stay with us. She's family. Also, you can NOT take leave to go back to New York and 'deal' with said jackass."

Rick nodded.

"I've already got the spare room made up and I wouldn't think of doing anything like what you suggested. I'm a responsible man now." he paused "Besides, I've already asked Esposito and Ryan to 'speak' with the jackass."

There was silence in the room, before Kate laughed.

"Oh, you know that they're going to put the fear of God into him... right?"

Rick grinned and nodded.

"That's the plan." The grin on his face from before, returned "Now, about lunch...?"

Before she could respond, there was a knock on her office door, which drew her attention. Sitting up straight in her chair, she made sure her desk was in order before speaking out, as Rick leaned back in his chair.

"Enter."

The door opened and a tall middle aged man, entered with two folders in his hands. Approaching her desk, he handed her one of the folders, a grim look on his face. Taking the folder, she looked at his face, noticing the grim expression. A sigh escaped her lips as she massaged her temple.

"How bad Barone?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Robert Barone frowned.

"Two... so far. It gets worse though, look in the folder."

Frowning, Kate opened the folder and read the incident report before glancing at the photographs of the crime scene, as Rick moved behind her and looked over her shoulder at the pictures. The scenes they showed, were distressing and disturbing in the brutality and gore. A young man seen sitting in a small office, his neck slashed in such a violent manner, that the spinal cord was severed completely with the back of the head resting against the man's shoulder blades. Blood was shown across the desk and the documents on it.

Looking at the other photographs of the office, she noticed the small amounts of blood was shown on the wall and across the floor. Her knowledge of murder cases from her past in New York, came to bear, as she studied the photographs carefully.

"The killer is a amateur... Brutal and violent, but clearly no real idea of what they were doing." she looked at the detective "One Benjamin Cross, Thirty-five years old, Owner and operator of 'Starkhavens Bar and Grill'. Wasn't a robbery, as the cash was still there. By the look on your face, there's more."

Grunting in the affirmative, he motioned to the folder.

"Keep looking."

Handing the photographs of the late Benjamin to her husband to look over, slipping back into his role as police liaison he had back in New York, her eyes went wide. The photographs were showing the inside of one of the restaurants restrooms, the scene was one of a horrific and disturbingly brutal murder. The victim, a Stephanie Cross, had been disemboweled and then her body had been dismembered and scattered all over the room. Blood was splattered all over the floor, as well as the stalls and wash basins.

Kate looked at Robert.

"Disturbing... but knowing you, there's something else..." she looked back at the folder, before Robert could respond "... 'Ghostface'?"

He nodded and then handed over the other folder. Taking it, Kate opened the folder eyes scanning over the first incident report involving the murder of a school girl and her boyfriend, the girl's parents finding her hanging from the tree in front of their house. Numerous reports followed of other murders in the town, culminating in a house full of bodies and four survivors :

Sidney Prescott

Randy Meeks

Gale Weathers

Dewey Riley

Kate perused the rest of the folder, more murders in Woodsboro and even in Los Angeles, all attributed to this 'Ghostface' killer, with the last being none other than Jill Roberts, the cousin of Sidney Prescott. Closing the folder, she looked up at her colleague, a grimace on her face.

"So... "

Robert spoke up.

"Check the date. The first incident."

Curious, Kate reopened the folder and read the date.

" ..."

Rick saw the date and frowned.

"That's the connection."

The tall detective nodded at Rick.

"Exactly twenty years to the date."

Frowning, she looked back at the first folder of the Cross murders.

"Victims were killed by a sharpened blade... Coroner reports match it to a 'Buck knife' as the murder weapon." looking back at the reports in the other folder, her frown deepened "Same type of blade was used in the other murders..."

Rick looked up from the pictures of the late Stephanie Cross, a grimace on his face.

"Meaning we have a Copycat killer Kate."

Kate looked at him and nodded, before she looked at Robert with a expression one of stone.

"Find out where this Sidney Prescott is and..."

Rick cleared his throat, drawing the attention of both police officers.

"As you know, I am a semi retired author... Ms Prescott is a author as well AND from what I heard from my sources, she's heading back here in the next few days for the release of a new book. There's a book signing event this weekend in town."

Kate looked at Robert.

"Find out where the book signing is taking place and organize a security detail. Also, I want to know where Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley are and if by some chance they are here in town, I want a protective detail on the three of them twenty four seven. I also want detailed reports from where these other murders took place, coroner's reports, everything on my desk in four hours. We need to get on top of this immediately."

The detective nodded, then turned and left her office as she looked back over the folders.

{Line Break}

A car pulled into the driveway of a old house, still maintained by family and friends in town. The driver got out of their car, their long dark brown hair cascading on their shoulders. They walked along the cracked pathway to the front door of the house, the key to the door in their hands as they paused to take a breath, before inserting the key into the lock and unlocking the door.

The door creaked open and slightly stale air wafted over them. Stepping inside, they walked through the first floor of the house, memories flitting through their mind as they recalled happier times. Coming up to the staircase, their hand ran along the banister as they walked upstairs, memories coming fast both good... and otherwise. Stopping in front of the door to a bedroom, their hand trembled as it closed around the handle and then turned, the door opening into a bedroom.

More memories came to them... memories of a figure in ragged black robes, the flash of a knife blade and the mechanical husky voice taunting them. Grimacing, they closed their eyes tight as the memories washed over them and they started to take deep breathes to try and calm down.

Opening their eyes, they looked around the room and then sighed.

"Welcome home Sidney."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late update. Had a brief bout of writer's block and it took me awhile to figure out what I wanted for this chapter.
> 
> Please consider leaving a review. Thanks.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to take a break after posting the last chapters of my Nightmare on Elm Street story... but I got to brainstorming ideas... which evolved into this lol. It is a direct continuation and there will be two other stories I have plan which will follow along, concurrent to this one. Don't know whether to start on them or continue working on this one... guess we'll find out eh?
> 
> Please consider leaving a review. Thanks.


End file.
